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"Wake up," the voice said.

Oliver weakly opened his eyes just enough to be considered open. There were bright, stark lights all around him, much whiter than the warm lights at home. He could hear voices around him, some very familiar, one he had heard once or twice, and some that he had never heard before.

"Have you decided what you're going to do yet?" one of the unfamiliar voices said.

" Yes. We'll do it. We'd only be putting it off longer than it needs to be." said another voice, choking back a sob.

Oliver could recognize this voice. It was his dad. He had never heard him crying like this before though. Oliver tried to move his body towards the voice, but it was like he was dragging a boulder behind him. Everything was so heavy, from his head to his tail. It was also hard to breath. Oliver felt a clog in the cavity between his mouth and nose. He could feel water in his lungs as well. Every attempt at movement was exhausting him.

"Wake up." the voice from above said again. "Breathe."

This voice was also unfamiliar in the sense that Oliver had never heard it before, but it also spoke with a cadence and tenor that he had never heard anyone speak with. It rang through the air with a clarity of a bell, but also had the thickness of a dense fog. It was light and heavy at the same time. The most mysterious thing about it was the warmth. When it spoke, a tingle shot through Oliver's spine.

"Speak." the voice said, before the room went completely silent bar a light buzzing noise. Suddenly, a curious sensation came over Oliver. He tried to call out, but something different than normal came out.

"Dad?" Oliver said weakly.

All the people in the room turned quickly and what was once blurry came into focus. Oliver quickly matched the familiar voices with the people in the room, his family. His dad and mom were there, as well as his three brothers. The new man who joined the family recently was there as well. Oliver smiled. He had been taking care of Oliver for the last few months when no one else was around. There were a few other girls in the room too. One of them had come to visit a few times. Oliver knew she was a doctor, but she was one that took care of humans. There were also two other girls in the room that Oliver had never met before. They both wore matching blue shirts and pants and had some metal devices around their necks.

"Ollie?" Dad said tearfully.

"What's... happening to me?" Oliver said slowly. No one answered. Some were crying quietly, and some had completely shocked looks on their faces. "Hey! I'm talking to you? What's happening to me?" Oliver said a little stronger, and a little louder.

Dad cried and laughed at the same time. "There's some of his spark coming back." Dad knelt down next to the table that Oliver was lying on and put his arms around him. He started to cry harder and started running his hand over Oliver's white fur. Everyone else came around the table and started doing the same. A warm feeling filled Oliver's whole body and his eyes began to well up with tears. With the warmth, came strength, and he was able to roll over onto his back. His tail started wagging slowly and intermittently.

"Is this what heaven feels like?" Oliver asked out loud.

"Close enough," said one of his brothers, with a sad smile on his face. In the meantime, one of the ladies with the metal devices around her neck had reentered the room with a long needle in her hand. Oliver's dad looked up, and shook his head.

"Not yet," he said. "Something's happening." Everyone started rubbing Oliver even more vigorously. Euphoria was taking over and Oliver was in almost a dream-like state.

"I love all of you so so much." Oliver said weakly.

"We all love you too," said Mom. Oliver tried to respond to this, but all that came out this time was a gurgling warble. He was acutely aware of the liquid in his chest. His eyes started to slowly close again. He looked up at his dad again, who was nodding at the woman with the needle. She walked around behind Oliver, out of view. Everyone was still caressing his stomach. The warmth Oliver felt was punctuated with a small pinprick in his hind leg. Suddenly, he started feeling very sleepy and quickly drifted off.

When he awoke, everything around him was white and he was all alone. All the pain was gone and he could breathe normally. He was also able to stand up and walk around again.

"Hey! Over here!" a voice from nowhere spoke again. This voice was very different than the first mysterious voice. It was light and high-pitched, and also distinctly female. Oliver turned around and saw a small honey-coloured dog with floppy ears standing behind him. He walked towards her to get a closer look, but before he reached her, she spoke again.

"I'm not there yet, but I'm coming soon. I promise I'll protect them, so you don't have to worry!"